USA, MI: River Rouge Brew Co. opens in Royal Oak

Brewer Edward Stencel's eclectic background and Michigan heritage have made a stamp on his new River Rouge Brewing Company, which opened three weeks ago in Royal Oak, The Detroit News reported on June 3.

The brewery is named after the Michigan city where his grandfather moved after immigrating from Poland in the early 1910s. Stencel went to college in Britain where he learned to enjoy the brown ales made there.

In the fall of 2013 he started making plans with his brother, Chip Stencel, wife Martha Stencel and partner Joanne Engwright to open the River Rouge Brewery, which employs a three-and-a-half barrel system.

"My wife tells me I went from Armani to Carhartt," jokes Stencel, referring to his transition from businessman to beer maker.

For his brewing education, Stencel studied under Alex Van Horne, owner and head brewer of San Diego's Intergalactic Brewing Company (Stencel proudly wears this brewery's patch on his work shirt alongside the River Rouge Brewery logo).

05 June, 2015